| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 20080267835 | SYSTEM FOR REACTIVATING CATALYSTS - A method of reactivating a catalyst, such as a solid catalyst or a liquid catalyst is provided. The method comprises providing a catalyst that is at least partially deactivated by fouling agents. The catalyst is contacted with a fluid reactivating agent that is at or above a critical point of the fluid reactivating agent and is of sufficient density to dissolve impurities. The fluid reactivating agent reacts with at least one fouling agent, releasing the at least one fouling agent from the catalyst. The at least one fouling agent becomes dissolved in the fluid reactivating agent and is subsequently separated or removed from the fluid reactivating agent so that the fluid reactivating agent may be reused. A system for reactivating a catalyst is also disclosed. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20080318094 | METHODS FOR CONVERSION OF A LIGHT ALKANE TO A HIGHER HYDROCARBON, METHOD OF DEHYDROGENATING AN ALKANE, AND METHOD OF REACTIVATING A CATALYST LAYER - A controllable proton exchange reactive membrane comprising a proton exchange membrane, at least two catalyst layers disposed on opposing sides of the proton exchange membrane, and a power source operably coupled to the at least two catalyst layers. A direction and magnitude of flow of hydrogen through the proton exchange reactive membrane is controlled by modulating the power source across the proton exchange membrane, thereby enabling hydrogen to be transported in either direction across the proton exchange reactive membrane. By controlling the transport of hydrogen, the extent of a homologation reaction is enhanced. A proton exchange reactive membrane reactor comprising the proton exchange reactive membrane is also disclosed. A method of producing a higher hydrocarbon from a light alkane is disclosed, as is a method of regenerating a catalyst layer. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20090071872 | CONVERSION OF CROP SEED OIL TO JET FUEL AND ASSOCIATED METHODS - Aspects of the invention include methods to produce jet-fuel from biological oil sources. The method may be comprised of two steps: a hydrocracking and a reforming. The process may be self sufficient in heat and hydrogen. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20100009842 | ENHANCEMENT OF ALKYLATION CATALYSTS FOR IMPROVED SUPERCRITICAL FLUID REGENERATION - A method of modifying an alkylation catalyst to reduce the formation of condensed hydrocarbon species thereon. The method comprises providing an alkylation catalyst comprising a plurality of active sites. The plurality of active sites on the alkylation catalyst may include a plurality of weakly acidic active sites, intermediate acidity active sites, and strongly acidic active sites. A base is adsorbed to a portion of the plurality of active sites, such as the strongly acidic active sites, selectively poisoning the strongly acidic active sites. A method of modifying the alkylation catalyst by providing an alkylation catalyst comprising a pore size distribution that sterically constrains formation of the condensed hydrocarbon species on the alkylation catalyst or by synthesizing the alkylation catalyst to comprise a decreased number of strongly acidic active sites is also disclosed, as is a method of improving a regeneration efficiency of the alkylation catalyst. | 01-14-2010 |
| 20100072132 | METHODS FOR RECOVERING A POLAR SOLVENT FROM A FLUID STREAM CONTAMINATED WITH AT LEAST ONE POLAR IMPURITY - A method of removing a polar solvent from a fluid volume contaminated with at least one polar impurity, such as a free fatty acid, is provided. The method comprises providing a fluid volume that includes at least one polar impurity dissolved in at least one solvent. The fluid volume is contacted with an expanding gas to remove the at least one solvent. The expanding gas may be dissolved into the at least one solvent in the fluid volume to form a gas-expanded solvent. The immiscibility of the polar impurities in the gas-expanded solvent enables separation of the polar impurities from the gas-expanded solvent. After separation of the polar impurities, at least one of the temperature and pressure may be reduced to separate the solvent from the expanding gas such that the clean solvent may be reused. | 03-25-2010 |
| 20110085944 | SYSTEMS INCLUDING CATALYSTS IN POROUS ZEOLITE MATERIALS WITHIN A REACTOR FOR USE IN SYNTHESIZING HYDROCARBONS - Catalytic structures include a catalytic material disposed within a zeolite material. The catalytic material may be capable of catalyzing a formation of methanol from carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide, and the zeolite material may be capable of catalyzing a formation of hydrocarbon molecules from methanol. The catalytic material may include copper and zinc oxide. The zeolite material may include a first plurality of pores substantially defined by a crystal structure of the zeolite material and a second plurality of pores dispersed throughout the zeolite material. Systems for synthesizing hydrocarbon molecules also include catalytic structures. Methods for synthesizing hydrocarbon molecules include contacting hydrogen and at least one of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide with such catalytic structures. Catalytic structures are fabricated by forming a zeolite material at least partially around a template structure, removing the template structure, and introducing a catalytic material into the zeolite material. | 04-14-2011 |
| 20110092356 | CATALYTIC STRUCTURES INCLUDING CATALYST MATERIALS IN POROUS ZEOLITE MATERIALS, AND METHODS OF FORMING SAME - Catalytic structures include a catalytic material disposed within a zeolite material. The catalytic material may be capable of catalyzing a formation of methanol from carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide, and the zeolite material may be capable of catalyzing a formation of hydrocarbon molecules from methanol. The catalytic material may include copper and zinc oxide. The zeolite material may include a first plurality of pores substantially defined by a crystal structure of the zeolite material and a second plurality of pores dispersed throughout the zeolite material. Systems for synthesizing hydrocarbon molecules also include catalytic structures. Methods for synthesizing hydrocarbon molecules include contacting hydrogen and at least one of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide with such catalytic structures. Catalytic structures are fabricated by forming a zeolite material at least partially around a template structure, removing the template structure, and introducing a catalytic material into the zeolite material. | 04-21-2011 |
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| 20080303704 | Low-Power Inverted Ladder Digital-to-Analog Converter - An inverted ladder circuit for a Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) having an input binary word representing an input value and an output current corresponding to a converted analog value. The inverted ladder circuit includes at least two fine resistor ladders, including at least an upper fine resistor ladder and a lower fine resistor ladder. The inverted ladder circuit also includes a coarse resistor ladder having a corresponding plurality of coarse ladder resistors, wherein the coarse resistor ladder slides upon the at least two fine resistor ladders. The inverted ladder circuit also includes a plurality of upper fine switches and a plurality of lower fine switches, wherein the switches operate in parallel according to the lower five bits of the input binary word. The plurality of fine ladder resistors are matched with the plurality of coarse ladder resistors to obtain current proportional to the input binary word. The output resistance and parasitic capacitance are reduced. | 12-11-2008 |
| 20090091377 | INTEGRATED SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MULTICHANNEL NEURONAL RECORDING WITH SPIKE/LFP SEPARATION, INTEGRATED A/D CONVERSION AND THRESHOLD DETECTION - A CMOS integrated circuit for multi-channel neuronal recording with twelve true-differential channels, band separation and digital offset calibration. The recorded signal is separated into 2 bands: a low-frequency, local field potential (LFP); and high-frequency spike data. Digitally programmable gains for the LFP and spike bands are provided. A mixed-signal front-end processor for multi-channel neuronal recording is also described. It receives twelve differential-input channels of implanted recording electrodes. A programmable cutoff HPF blocks DC and low frequency input drift at about 1 Hz. The signals are band-split at about 200 Hz to low-frequency local field potential (LFP) and high-frequency spike data (SPK), which is band limited by a programmable-cutoff LPF. The analog signals are converted into digital form, and streamed out over a serial digital bus at up to 8 Mbps. A special interface system incorporating an embedded CPU core in a programmable logic device accompanied by real-time software allows connectivity to a computer host. | 04-09-2009 |
| 20090124919 | LOW POWER HARDWARE ALGORITHMS AND ARCHITECTURES FOR SPIKE SORTING AND DETECTION - A neuronal recording system featuring a large number of electrodes and a portable wireless front-end integrated circuit for signal processing for low-power spike detection and alignment. The system is configured as a Neuroprocessor and introduces hardware architectures for automatic spike detection and alignment algorithms. The Neuroprocessor can be placed next to the recording electrodes and provide for all stages of spike processing, stimulating neuronal tissues and wireless communications to a host computer. Some of the algorithms are based on principal component analysis(PCA). Others employ a novel Integral Transform. The algorithms execute autonomously, but require off-line training and setting of computational parameters. Pre-recorded neuronal signals evaluate the accuracy of the proposed algorithms and architectures: The recorded data are processed by a standard PCA spike sorting software algorithm, as well as by the several hardware algorithms, and the outcomes are compared. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090150847 | Logic circuit delay optimization - A method for modifying a logic circuit layout to optimize circuit propagation delays for improved circuit operation is presented. The layout includes multiple logic gates connected by conductive segments. An initial layout of a physical electronic logic circuit having the plurality of logic gates is input. A respective size is determined for each of the logic gates in accordance with the initial layout and a circuit propagation delay criterion. The circuit propagation delay criterion is a joint function of properties of at least some of the logic gates and at least some of the conductive segments. A modified logic circuit layout is output. The modified logic circuit layout includes a layout of the logic gates arranged in accordance with the initial layout, where each of the logic gates is modified according to the respective determined size, thereby to obtain a modification of the logic circuit layout incorporating an optimized circuit propagation delay. | 06-11-2009 |
| 20100322365 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SYNCHRONIZING MULTI-CLOCK DOMAINS - A universal synchronizer for preventing signals from first clock domain from causing metastability in sampling registers operating in a second clock domain. A first synchronization flip-flop receives a primary signal from the first clock domain and a second synchronization flip-flop generates a secondary signal synchronized with the second clock domain. Notably, logic is applied to intermediate signals passed between the first synchronization flip-flop and the second synchronization flip-flop. | 12-23-2010 |
